Honda has a carefully considered game plan for self-driving cars, and, if one word characterizes its approach, it is "patience." Tapping its luxury brand Acura to lead its U.S. advance to AVs, Honda plotted a deliberate course to autonomy through steady development of driver-assistance systems. To date, it hasn't strayed from that.

It was only a year ago Acura's Matt Sloustcher told Autotrader that that Honda's vision wasn't to have a 100 percent self-driving car in the next four or five years, but to significantly help the driver through technology by 2020. "Corporate Honda sees autonomous vehicles as feasible," he explained, "but it doesn't see an end date for one at this point."

Much has happened in the past 12 months, and Honda now seems willing to attach firm dates to at least some of its plans. In a recent announcement, it provided specifics for 2020 and 2025.

Levels of Autonomy

In the fall of 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for the first time issued guidelines for developing self-driving cars, also known as autonomous vehicles (AVs). Within those guidelines was an official definition of the levels of autonomy as devised by SAE International, an automotive and aerospace standards-setting body. Levels 3 through 5 represent serious autonomy:

SAE Level 3: An automated system can both actually conduct some parts of the driving task and monitor the driving environment in some instances, but the human driver must be ready to take back control when the automated system requests.

SAE Level 4: An automated system can conduct the driving task and monitor the driving environment, and the human need not take back control, but the automated system can operate only in certain environments and under certain conditions.

SAE Level 5: The automated system can perform all driving tasks, under all conditions that a human driver could perform them.

Honda has yet to establish an end date for a Level 5 vehicle, but it has set dates for Levels 3 and 4.

2020

Although some developers of self-driving cars are predicting Level 4 or even Level 5 vehicles by 2020, Honda's more conservative approach promises a Level 3 vehicle by 2020. Here, though, Honda is confining its 2020 projection to highly automated freeway driving.

Granted, we might expect freeway-capable Level 3 Honda/Acura models to be able to perform on their own in other specific areas, but at this date Honda is restricting its announcement to freeway driving.

2025

Honda's recent announcement isn't the first time it alluded to 2020 as a key date in the development of highly automated vehicles, but it is the first time it has declared it will have a Level 4 vehicle by 2025.

"We will strive to achieve the technological establishment of Level 4 automated driving for personal car use by around 2025," said Takahiro Hachigo, president and CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. "We are striving to provide our customers with a sense of confidence and trust by offering automated driving that will keep vehicles away from any dangerous situation and that will not make people around the vehicle feel unsafe."

What it means to you: Despite the industry's rapid march toward self-driving cars, as illustrated by Honda's recent announcement, there is still a lot of hard work to be done before our streets and highways are brimming with AVs. We may not see personal-use Level 5 AVs on our roads before 2030.

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